Rational-emotive therapy versus systematic desensitization: A comment on Moleski and Tosi.

States that the results of R. Moleski and D. J. Tosi's (see record 1977-01710-001) study, purporting the superiority of rational-emotive therapy over systematic desensitization in the treatment of stuttering, can largely be explained by chance sample fluctuation alone. It is argued that their expected error rate is unacceptably high because of their questionable ANOVA design and use of an alpha level of .10. (8 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive therapy versus systematic desensitization: Is one treatment superior?

Reviews psychotherapy outcome research and reassesses the findings of D. A. Shapiro and D. Shapiro (see record 1983-06160-001) who reported evidence in their review that cognitive therapy was considerably more effective than systematic desensitization. A substantially larger sample of studies is examined that have compared these 2 forms of treatment. Analyses indicated that (a) cognitive and desensitization treatments are roughly equal in efficacy, and (b) Shapiro and Shapiro's earlier finding may have occurred only because most of the studies they examined were conducted by investigators with an allegiance to cognitive therapy. Present results reveal that therapies combining both cognitive and desensitization treatments are no more effective than one of the treatments alone. The comparable level of improvement observed for cognitive, desensitization, and combined treatments has important implications for psychotherapy theory and research. A listing of the 25 studies included in the present review are appended. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Hypnosis versus systematic desensitization in the treatment of test anxiety.

Assessed the comparative effectiveness of systematic desensitization (SD) and the directed experience hypnotic technique (HT) in reducing self-reported test anxiety and increasing the academic performance of 36 test-anxious undergraduates. Ss were assigned randomly to either the HT or SD conditions or to 1 of 2 control groups. All Ss had previously scored above the 50th percentile on Sarason's Test Anxiety Questionnaire (TAQ) and below the 85th percentile on a midterm exam. Results indicate that only the SD treatment significantly reduced TAQ scores. No significant improvement in academic performance was observed for either treatment. An additional analysis of high- vs moderate-anxious subgroups failed to show differential treatment effects on either dependent measure. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Systematic desensitization versus implosive therapy.

Compared systematic desensitization (SDT) and implosive therapies (IT) for their effectiveness and efficiency in reducing snake phobic behavior in 36 otherwise normal adults. SDT and IT Ss differed significantly from control Ss in posttreatment avoidance of a snake and in change of reported discomfort. SDT and IT, however, did not differ in effectiveness. Results of a 6-mo follow-up show that IT was more efficient in that treatment was completed in 45% of the time required for SDT. Results were qualified by the finding that SDT had a consistent and continuing effect across Ss and across time whereas IT effect was more variable. Occurrence of unusual disturbance of Ss during SDT and of IT Ss between sessions are discussed. (23 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A comparison of implosive therapy and systematic desensitization in the treatment of test anxiety.

Administered I. G. Sarason's 21-item Test Anxiety Scale as a pre- and posttest measure of the comparative efficacy of 2 techniques for reducing test anxiety in 34 undergraduates. Both desensitization and implosive therapy resulted in significant decreases in scores. However, the desensitization group also demonstrated a significant reduction in state anxiety assessed during simulated testing sessions and a significant increase in GPA, while the implosive therapy group showed no comparable improvement. Results are discussed in relation to a number of conceptual and methodological issues that have received relatively little empirical attention in behavior therapy research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Treatment outcome and maintenance in systematic desensitization: Professional versus paraprofessional effectiveness.

Determined the relative effectiveness of paraprofessionals and well-trained professionals in conducting systematic desensitization. 45 anxious college students were tested with the Test Anxiety Behavior Scale and the Symptom Check List and randomly assigned to a wait-list control group, 3 groups facilitated by experienced behavior therapists, and 3 groups led by paraprofessionals. Results of pretreatment, posttreatment, and 5-mo follow-up measures show that paraprofessionals can achieve outcome and maintenance effects equivalent to those of the more rigorously trained professionals. It is suggested that paraprofessionals can conduct desensitization in a high quality, cost-effective manner, thus reducing the professional case load and adding greatly to the scope of programs offered to the consumer. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Treatment of anxiety through systematic desensitization in therapy groups.

The effects of short-term treatment by modified systematic desensitization in time-limited intensive therapy groups were evaluated in a matched groups design. 10 chronically anxious college males, treated by the group method, were evaluated on the basis of personality and anxiety scales against an "own-control" period, and 4 equated groups of 10 Ss each. 1 group served as an untreated control for evaluating extra-treatment effects on college grade-point average, as an objective, public criterion. Ss in the remaining groups received 1 of the following individual treatments: systematic desensitization, insight-oriented psychotherapy, or an attention-placebo treatment. The group method produced several significant improvements, suggesting that combined group desensitization offers an efficient and effective treatment for social-evaluative anxiety. (27 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Group therapy of phobic disorders by systematic desensitization.

Phobic patients were placed in groups receiving either insight or desensitization (Wolpe, 1958) therapy. In approximately 20 sessions, 13 of 18 Ss treated by Wolpe's method were able to tolerate the fantasy of their phobic situation as well as to live through the experience outside of therapy without experiencing anxiety. Only 2 patients were symptom free in a comparable number of hours of insight-oriented group therapy. The 15 non-symtom-free Ss in the latter group were then placed in densensitization groups: 10 improved in 10 sessions. The implication of the results were discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceptions of the psychotherapy relationship in long- versus short-term therapy.

Examined participant perceptions of therapy by comparing long- with short-term therapy dyads. 30 therapy dyads from 3 large midwestern community mental health centers were included. Therapists and clients (20–49 yrs old) completed the Therapy Session Report 4 times and the Survey of Interpersonal Values twice immediately following scheduled therapy sessions. Results indicate that therapists and clients in long-term therapy dyads were more phenomenologically congruent in their feelings toward psychotherapy and each other and in their perceptions of therapeutic goals and processes than were therapists and clients in short-term therapy dyads. Often these perceptions were shared at the very outset of therapy. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Group systematic desensitization versus covert positive reinforcement in the reduction of test anxiety.

Compared modified versions of systematic desensitization and covert positive reinforcement to a no-treatment control condition in the reduction of test anxiety in 27 undergraduates. Both experimental groups received 8 treatment sessions, and the systematic desensitization group received 2 additional sessions devoted to relaxation training. The 2 treatments were comparable and generally superior to the control group in pretest-posttest and pretest-follow-up changes as measured by the Suinn Test Anxiety Behavior Scale and the Alpert-Haber Achievement Anxiety Test. On an anagrams performance test, the covert reinforcement and control groups were superior to the desensitization group. No significant differences occurred in subjectively experienced anxiety during the performance test. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

EMG biofeedback training versus systematic desensitization for test anxiety reduction.

Investigated EMG biofeedback training as a method to reduce test anxiety among 40 university students. A procedure combining EMG biofeedback training with systematic desensitization (SD) was compared to an automated SD program not using EMG feedback. The study also evaluated the effectiveness of EMG feedback relaxation training without SD. Ss were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 groups: (a) EMG biofeedback training with SD, (b) EMG biofeedback relaxation training, (c) automated SD, and (d) no-treatment control. At the end of the program, all participants were administered the Suinn Test Anxiety Behavior Scale, Sarason's Test Anxiety Scale, and an anagrams test, given under threat conditions. Results suggest that EMG biofeedback training is a useful technique for reducing test anxiety, but not necessarily more effective than SD. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Systematic versus semantic desensitization and implosive therapy: A comparative study.

Selected 28 female and 12 male rat-phobic undergraduates matched on the degree of behavior avoidance, subjective fear, and semantic rating of the fear object. Ss were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 treatment groups: systematic desensitization, semantic desensitization, implosive therapy, and pseudodesensitization on a neutral buffer task. Results indicate that both the systematic and the semantic desensitization treatment resulted in a significant fear decrement as compared to the controls (p     

A self-control versus a counterconditioning paradigm for systematic desensitization: An experimental comparison.

Compared procedures that follow from the traditional counterconditioning paradigm and a self-control paradigm of systematic desensitization, using 47 test-anxious undergraduates as Ss. As predicted, the self-control procedures were superior to the counterconditioning procedures and control conditions, although only Sarason's Test Anxiety Scale was statistically significant. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparative effectiveness of there-and-then versus here-and-now therapist interpretations in group psychotherapy.

Compared the effectiveness of 4 methods of group psychotherapy: interpretive there and then, interpretive here and now, these treatments in combination, and problem discussion (attention placebo). Validation checks ascertained that the therapist carried out his role as prescribed for each condition. To maximize the potential for gain in the 2 groups to be characterized by a higher level of there-and-then clinical inferences, 28 undergraduate clients and an insight-oriented therapist were employed. Outcome measures included the Rotter Internal-External Control Scale, a questionnaire on S's expectations of goal attainment, and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. No clear evidence for the superiority of the insight-production groups was found. However, clients' experiences were less consistently positive in the here-and-now group and tended to be more consistently positive in the combined group than in the others. Theoretical implications of the findings are discussed. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Habituation model of systematic desensitization.

Discusses the relevance of habituation as a model for response decrement in desensitization. A discussion of the relationship between habituation and extinction leads to the view that there are no sound reasons for explaining desensitization as an extinction rather than as a habituation phenomenon. The maximal habituation theory of desensitization proposed by M. H. Lader and A. M. Mathews (1968) is discussed and relevant evidence reviewed. Finally, a revised habituation theory of desensitization, based on the dual-process theory of habituation, is elaborated, and the role in desensitization of relaxation, stimulus intensity, stimulus lengths, and interstimulus interval lengths are discussed in the context of this theory. It is suggested that relaxation and an incremental stimulus hierarchy may reduce sensitization rather than facilitate habituation. (60 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Integrating behavior therapy and psychotherapy in the treatment of agoraphobia.

Investigated the effects of treatment that combined behavior therapy, cognitive therapy, family systems therapy, logotherapy, and Gestalt therapy in the treatment of agoraphobia. Ss were 30 females and 5 males (mean age 35.18 yrs) who had been agoraphobic for a median of 7.05 yrs and who had applied for a 2-wk intensive treatment program (ITP). Ss were administered a battery of questionnaires including the Beck Depression Inventory and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Ss either began treatment on a weekly basis while waiting for the ITP to begin (treatment Ss) or were placed on a waiting list (control Ss). Significant changes on self-reported avoidance behavior, panic attacks, social anxiety, depression, chronic anxiety, assertiveness, and fear of fear were observed in the treatment Ss up to 6 mo after beginning the ITP. No change had occurred on these measures during the same time in the controls. Results indicate that psychosocial treatment without drugs is effective for the majority of clients seeking treatment for agoraphobia. (36 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Therapy set: Its effects on subjects' involvement in systematic desensitization and treatment outcome.

Hypothesized that therapy instructions significantly augment desensitization treatment effects by influencing Ss' involvement in the conditioning procedure. 45 female undergraduate snake phobics were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 treatment groups or a no-treatment control. Therapy set and involvement instructions were manipulated within a 2 * 2 factorial design to create therapeutically and experimentally oriented Ss who were either unencouraged or encouraged to work hard at the experimental procedure. Analyses revealed therapy instructional effects on both behavioral and self-report measures of fear change which could not be attributed to experimenters' awareness of instructional manipulations. Therapy oriented Ss' performance scores were not, however, significantly greater than those obtained by Ss with an experimental orientation. Alternative hypotheses and future research strategies for testing therapy instructional effects are discussed. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Client-therapist relationship factor in systematic desensitization.

40 snake-phobic females were matched on degree of behavioral avoidance and subjective fear, and then randomly assigned to 1 of 4 groups: (1) a conventional desensitization group, using standard interpersonal procedures; (2) a semiautomated desensitization group in which treatment was delivered by tape recordings; (3) a pseudodesensitization control group; or (4) a no-treatment control group. Ss in both desensitization groups showed significantly greater improvement than did Ss in either of the 2 control groups. No differences were found between conventional and semiautomated procedures. It is concluded that the relationship is neither a primary nor critical factor in desensitization. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)